Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

thoughts on how to manage data with 256gb

E

eric44

macrumors member
Original poster
May 18, 2008
71
0
Would appreciate some thoughts on how to manage my data...
Currently have an imac with 250gb of video,photos, music etc on it. Growing by the day. Syncing my ipad with selected photos,music,videos etc.
Was planning on getting an air with 256gb to do photo editing etc, liking the portability.
What's the best way of moving across just the videos and photos I want onto the air and then syncing the ipad on it?
What do others do?
Many thanks
 
eric44 said:
Would appreciate some thoughts on how to manage my data...
Currently have an imac with 250gb of video,photos, music etc on it. Growing by the day. Syncing my ipad with selected photos,music,videos etc.
Was planning on getting an air with 256gb to do photo editing etc, liking the portability.
What's the best way of moving across just the videos and photos I want onto the air and then syncing the ipad on it?
What do others do?
Many thanks
Click to expand...

External hard drive?
 
Time capsule. I have 6TB worth of combined drives on my windows desktop so I don't blame you needing to manage some stuff.
 
I have the 256. I keep minimal amounts of data on it in the long term. I use sugarsync to easily manage about 6-8gb of data that i want to have on my air and my mini, its most of the important stuff that I want to have double or triple backed up.

Easiest and likely fastest would be an external hard drive. Though with the air you're restricted to USB2.0 (or thunderbolt if your iMac has it too.)

You could also get a NAS drive and hook it to your router over ethernet that will create a network shared drive automatically and store your data there.

If you want to keep certain files in sync between the two, you could look at SugarSync or Dropbox. I like SugarSync personally.

Outside of either of those three options, you could setup a network share on your iMac and connect to it w/ your Air and drag and drop the files from one to the other over the network via finder copy....or if you want to be a more technical about it you can enable secure login on your iMac which enables by default SFTP and you can use an FTP client such as Transmit to move your data back and forth over your network.
 
Thanks for your thoughts.
I suppose what I thinking was whether I could use migration assistant to move only the bits I really need to the air and leave the rest behind.
i.e. move all my itunes library, most of my photos and some of my videos.
That way I could keep on the air what I really need access to and 'travel light' with data.
The rest could stay behind on the imac in case I wanted access?
Not sure I know how to migrate my settings and only selected videos etc?
 
Just go in sharing preference and share your imac account. Then you'll be able to use your MBA to access your files on your imac when using your username and password... copy-paste ... ok over the air will take a day and night, but didn't cost a dime....
 
For iTunes, I use iTunes Match. My media is taking 0GB on my SSD - of course, I can only play music while connected to a network, but I'm rarely outside of WiFi anyway - YMMV.

I have also used a NAS to connect to my media at home or remotely, but I find Match to be less of a hassle.
 
I have a 2TB NAS :)

Synology 212J accessiable over the internet should I be on the move. Perfect!
 
psxp said:
I have a 2TB NAS :)

Synology 212J accessiable over the internet should I be on the move. Perfect!
Click to expand...

Thanks! That answers one of my questions. I was not sure if this would be accessible outside of my home wifi. Hoping that it is not difficult to set up or expensive.

Thanks again!
 
Photography is a hobby of mine. Although iPhoto could handle most of the things I wanted to do, I upgraded to Aperture.

The biggest reason is Aperture gives you away to manage multiple libraries with ease. I keep the last few months of photos on my MBP and the main library on my iMac.
 
Very helpful posts - thanks.
Please explain what a NAS drive is and what makes it different to any other external drive?
Why is it a good solution?
Thanks
 
eric44 said:
Very helpful posts - thanks.
Please explain what a NAS drive is and what makes it different to any other external drive?
Why is it a good solution?
Thanks
Click to expand...

There are many solutions here are 3 from simpist to most complex

1) Local external hard drive. Just plug in a external drive when you need it. BAM. Instant 500 gig to 2 TB. Just a bit of a pain to always have to plug the drive in.

2) Shared Drive on Another computer. Just share folder on your iMac (or similar) or plug that external drive into the iMac and share it. Nice solution while in your house.... One problem is you must have another computer and it must always be on (for the most part...)

3) NAS Solution. Network-Attached-Storage. Basically the same as the above but the computer part is built into the storage. This removes the need for another computer. NAS solutions can be more $$$ than just adding disk to the solution #2

Hope that helps.
 
if you didn't want anything sticking out you COULD go with an SD card, not ideal tho.
 
Been through my folders and found that there is actually only 89gb of data to move onto a new MBA.
lots of duplication on videos courtesy of iTunes!
Also 93gb of videos I do not need day to day access to.
does anyone know how much of the MBA drive is used up by OSX etc on arrival?
I am figuring that 256gb should last me for years...
 
owning an mba 11" with 256gb ssd myself, i am struggling with valued hard disk space myself!

today i took the plunge and ordered one of the new announced "Elgato Thunderbolt SSD 120 GB" drives.

i know, those are very expensive but if you ever get used to the speed and convenience of ssd's you could never look back!

at home i am backing up and storing additional data on 4TB WD drive attached to an Airport Extreme.

the external ssd will solely be used for photo shoots and editing purposes, will let you know how this will work out if the drive get mailed in ...
 
That is one cool external drive, not available in the UK yet but well worth considering.
Likeing the silent running...
 
I keep all non critical data off my MBA's 256GB SSD...I transfer new project material to my iMac, and obviously to my backup drives as soon as I return from location. I don't want to add external storage if I can avoid it, as it reduces the "portability" of the Air.

Good file management practice means it should be possible to cope with the smaller storage volume, but then, I go way back in the day when 20MB (yep 20 MB) was a standard hdd size!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back